Reliance Capital Blog

Reliance Capital, India's Berkshire Hathaway

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

R-ADAG may pick 50% in UK currency co

Reliance ADAG is close to acquiring 50% stake in a UK-based currency exchange and money transfer firm for an undisclosed amount. This will enablethe Indian company to sell its financial products to the 1.4 million NRI population.

The name of the UK firm is under wraps but a person with knowledge of the development said the target company was recently named as one of the fastest growing firms in the UK with more than 250 outlets.

“It could either be TTT Moneycorp or No1 Currency,’’ he said, adding, the deal will be routed through Wall Street Finance, an Indian public-listed firm that ADAG acquired recently to enter the money transfer business.

TTT Moneycorp is a retail, wholesale and commercial foreign exchange services firm in the UK owned by the Shlewet family trust and backed by the Royal Bank of Scotland while No1 Currency was formed in 1996 and is owned by its two founding partners David Hale and Mark McElney.

Wall Street Finance board director Sudip Bandyopadhyay, who is also the CEO of Reliance Money, declined to comment on the deal.

ADAG’s plans to buy the UK company is in sync with its strategy for a wider distribution of the group’s financial products. Reliance Capital operates the largest asset management firm in the country and is involved in other businesses such as retail brokerage, distribution of insurance products and lending.

In 2008, R-ADAG actively picked equity stakes with international financial services firms. This has come despite the financial services business being the worst hit in the wake of the global credit crisis.

In particular, the group has picked a minority stake in the upcoming commodity exchange in Hong Kong and is in advanced stages of negotiations to pick more than 50% stake in a new commodity and currency trading exchange in Nigeria.

As reported first by ET in its edition dated October 20, 2008, the group is also in the hunt to acquire the Asian assets of US-based insurance firm AIG which was bailed out by the US government in October to prevent it from going bankrupt.

AIG has been looking to sell parts of its businesses and assets to focus on the core general insurance business.

Reliance Money inks pact with DBS Vickers Securities

Reliance Money, a unit of Reliance Capital and part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group, has entered into an agreement with DBS Vickers Securities, to facilitate trading in global commodity exchanges for Indian companies.

Globally, exchange traded commodity futures is one of the largest market sections in the financial markets witnessing participation from the producers, users, traders alike.

Under the arrangement, the company would provide trading facilities for different derivatives including agricultural products, metal and energy products, which are traded on major exchanges worldwide.

In addition, it would also provide trading facility on OTC (over-the-counter) products in segments such as energy and freight.

DBS Vickers Securities is a member of the Singapore Exchange. It is the securities and derivatives arm of the DBS Group, a leading banking group of Southeast Asia.

Reliance Money inks pact with DBS Vickers Securities

Reliance Money, a unit of Reliance Capital and part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group, has entered into an agreement with DBS Vickers Securities, to facilitate trading in global commodity exchanges for Indian companies.

Globally, exchange traded commodity futures is one of the largest market sections in the financial markets witnessing participation from the producers, users, traders alike.

Under the arrangement, the company would provide trading facilities for different derivatives including agricultural products, metal and energy products, which are traded on major exchanges worldwide.

In addition, it would also provide trading facility on OTC (over-the-counter) products in segments such as energy and freight.

DBS Vickers Securities is a member of the Singapore Exchange. It is the securities and derivatives arm of the DBS Group, a leading banking group of Southeast Asia.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm Reliance Capital today announced the appointment of Vikrant Gugnani to lead the company's international business initiatives, as a part of its plans to expand presence in global markets.

Gugnani has been promoted as the President and Chief Executive Officer of international business to lead the company and build businesses further in the global markets, Reliance Capital said in a statement.

At present, Vikrant Gugnai is the CEO of Reliance Capital Asset Management, the country's top fund house in terms of assets under management.

The company has started to develop a global footprint as a key growth engine for its businesses for the future, the statement added.

"We are confident of continuing the success story abroad as well and establish Reliance's trust and quality service," Gugnani said.

The company further said that current deputy CEO Sundeep Sikka would now take over as the CEO of Reliance Capital Asset Management. Earlier, Sikka was with mutual fund arm of ADAG.

The company is committed to nurturing and building a pipeline of internal leadership talent and am confident that both Vikrant and Sundeep will create new opportunities and provide great business leadership, Reliance Capital CEO Sam Ghosh said.

Over the last few years, Reliance Capital has invested in building presence in key emerging markets such as the Gulf countries, South East Asia and Africa.